Long rain delays hit across the MAC and IAC on Saturday, including an 80-minute holdover that began with about four minutes left in Maret’s game against KIPP. Frogs Coach Mike Engelberg decided to keep the atmosphere light in the school’s cramped locker room during the intermission, even allowing his players to mingle with their parents and siblings.

The decision to keep his team loose with the unconventional social hour, Engelberg believes, is what saved his team on Saturday in their 20-13 win. KIPP scored a touchdown just minutes before the delay started, taking a 13-12 lead and seizing control.

“I think it totally affected the game. They had a lot of momentum after they scored,” Engelberg said. “It was like starting a whole new game.”

Maret’s defense stiffened in the fourth quarter on the soggy field and got the game-winning touchdown from Mike Greene in the fourth quarter. The senior rushed for 61 yards and added an interception, a sack and nine tackles from his linebacker position.

The Frogs (2-0) have reaped the benefits from the emergence of defensive end Tre’ Bowens, who Engelberg said is evoking memories of former Maret standout Sean Davis, who now plays at Maryland. The 6-4, 230-pound Bowens has registered six sacks in two games, including four on Saturday.

The difference for Bowens from his junior year to the first two games this season has been his ability to become more comfortable in the 3-5-3 defensive scheme that Maret runs, which naturally sends double-teams Bowens’s way. He also said he has developed a new set of moves from his end position – courtesy of hitting the football camp circuit this summer – which includes becoming more fundamentally sound with rip techniques.

“I really incorporated that into my game,” Bowens said. “I wanted to make this season one of my best.”

Maret will take on Randolph-Macon next week, followed by Riverdale Baptist. In early October, the Frogs will meet defending MAC champion Potomac School, which will be the litmus test for Maret’s legitimacy in the league.

“I think a lot of us are lot hungrier,” Bowens said. “We want to push as hard as we can so we can win the MAC.” . . .

Sidwell Friends’s Kameron Mitchell returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, including an 80-yard fourth-quarter score that proved to be the game-winner, in a 35-34 win over Randolph Macon. Mitchell returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown for Sidwell (1-0), which earned its first opening day win in four seasons. Diamente Holloway added three catches for 70 yards, with two of those receptions going for touchdowns…

Flint Hill’s Stevie Peterson completed 20-of-25 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough as Paul VI Catholic rallied to beat the Huskies, 36-35 in overtime. Peterson added 61 yards rushing and Ben Kase caught 12 balls for 152 yards and one touchdown. Flint Hill scored on its first possession of overtime, on a seven-yard pass from Peterson to Cole Herdman, but the extra point failed after hitting the upright, and Paul VI scored and converted the PAT on the ensuing possession.

WCAC: Good Counsel struggles, but finds a way to win

Top-ranked Good Counsel had some struggles on Saturday night against St. Joseph’s (N.J.).

With plenty of bumps and bruises already up and down the roster, Clemson-bound standout Dorian O’Daniel picked up a “bit of a banged leg,” Falcons Coach Bob Milloy said, and was forced to play only on defense in the second half of the Falcons’ 14-10 win. That only compounded issues for Good Counsel, which rushed for just 43 yards and converted just 1-of-10 third downs in the win.

The Falcons (2-1) were aided by a few big plays from the seniors it would expect to step up.

Senior Kendall Fuller, the Virginia Tech-bound five-star recruit, had a 94-yard touchdown reception on a key third down. And Kirk Garner came up with a big interception and also blocked a punt, Falcons Coach Bob Milloy said.

Despite the big plays, however, Milloy was not pleased with the level of his team three weeks into the season. Especially with games in the coming weeks against the best of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference – Gonzaga, DeMatha, McNamara and St. John’s. Good Counsel next faces H.D. Woodson (0-2) on Friday.

“We were not very good,” Falcons Coach Bob Milloy said. “We have a long way to go.”

IAC: Landon off to 2-0 start

With standout running back Myles Allen sitting out after suffering a concussion against McNamara in the season opener, Landon Coach Paul Padalino didn’t turn to a stable of running backs to get the job done in a 41-14 win over Annapolis Area Christian on Saturday. He relied on his young offensive line to streamline the running game. And the front line, with no varsity starts between them heading into the season, helped Padalino’s club stay undefeated as Landon (2-0) rushed for 207 yards in the rout.

“To be able to run the football the way we’ve been able run the football against really quality athletes,” said Padalino, “has been the surprise for us. Those guys have helped us a great deal.”

Allen, who rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns in the opener, is day-to-day and might not be back in time for next week’s game against Mount St. Joseph…

Bullis scored 40 or more points for the second consecutive week, beating Bishop Ireton, 43-15. Devonte Williams rushed 22 times for 135 yards and a touchdown in the win, and Bullis got a multi-dimensional performance from Nick Fields, who caught a 14-yard touchdown pass and returned an interception 32-yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Western Michigan recruit Peter Angeh added two sacks from his defensive end position…

A week after losing 47-31 to St. Mary’s-Annapolis, St. Albans fell in another shootout Saturday, this time dropping a 47-36 contest to Mount St. Joseph. Arthur Jones led the St. Albans offense, scoring on a 61-yard touchdown reception and returning a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. He was also the leading rusher with 38 yards...

It was a different week but the same result for St. Stephens/St. Agnes, which beat St. Christopher’s 14-12 on Saturday, a week after taking down Riverdale Baptist by that same score. Ish Seisay passed for 211 yards in the win, and threw a 78-yard touchdown pass to Devante Phillips in the third quarter. That would be the eventual game-winning score, giving the Saints already one more win this season than all of last, after finishing 1-8.